BBC2: Alexis Polizzi 'The Fixer' and Hunter's Microbrewery.

[aleandhearty]

It seems that programmes about breweries are a bit like buses...

The slightly scary Ms. Polizzi casts her eye over the financial difficulties of a struggling Devon micro. Should prove rather informative. To be shown Monday 1st September 21.00.

[Bucking Fastard]

It seems that programmes about breweries are a bit like buses...

The slightly scary Ms. Polizzi casts her eye over the financial difficulties of a struggling Devon micro. Should prove rather informative. To be shown Monday 1st September 21.00.



I've never tried any Hunter's output,but this sounds like an interesting programme.Lots of micros fall by the wayside,this may shed some light on the issues that need to be considered.

[Aqualung]

I've never tried any Hunter's output,but this sounds like an interesting programme.Lot's of micros fall by the wayside,this may shed some light on the issues that need to be considered.

I don't know them either, but according to the almost defunct GBG they expanded from a five barrel plant to a sixty barrel one. 240 firkins is an awful lot of beer to sell especially outside the holiday season. Devon also has a lot of cider available and a few fairly well established micros. Their four beers listed in the GBG have a range from 3.8% to 4.3% so maybe they are all too similar and not that interesting.

I don't think Ms Polizzi is scary, she's downright terrifying!

[london calling]

I don't know them either, but according to the almost defunct GBG they expanded from a five barrel plant to a sixty barrel one. 240 firkins is an awful lot of beer to sell especially outside the holiday season. Devon also has a lot of cider available and a few fairly well established micros. Their four beers listed in the GBG have a range from 3.8% to 4.3% so maybe they are all too similar and not that interesting.

I don't think Ms Polizzi is scary, she's downright terrifying!
60 barrel are you sure?

[hondo]

I don't think Ms Polizzi is scary, she's downright terrifying!

but in a good way :eek::o:whistle:;):pray::ninja::evilgrin:

[aleandhearty]

I don't think Ms Polizzi is scary, she's downright terrifying!


but in a good way :eek::o:whistle:;):pray::ninja::evilgrin:

I find it amazing that one minute she's all sparkling brown eyes and Italianate good looks and at the flick of a switch her face becomes as hard as nails and is able to sour cream at fifty paces!

[oldboots]

I think Mrs May, our esteemed Home Secretary, makes a much better Dominatrix figure than young ms Polizzi.

You Southerners don't have the delights of Carol Mather on your telly screens of course, perhaps Hondo can point his aerial towards the BBC in the North East & Cumbria area or even enjoy her delightful vision when next in York.


I'll get my coat (a dirty mac)

[london calling]

I have had 2 Hunters beers and they were very average.I was in north Devon last week and Locale hasn't really caught on.Iwas surprised how few local beers were on and Doombar was on in nearly every pub.

[Aqualung]

60 barrel are you sure?

That's what the GBG says and your reaction probably speaks volumes.
The drinks trade has alway been fickle and prone to fashions and trends.
For various reasons I am quite concerned about Brodie's as they have been talking for the last year about having a new (I think 40 barrel) brewery for their core beers up and running by Autumn this year. To date there doesn't seem to be any sign of this happening so there has been a year of pubs wanting their beer and them not being able to provide it, including the William IV.
There are enough quality micros in London today for it to easily go unnoticed if one were to fall by the wayside and there are many that I haven't even tried.

[Wittenden]

I think Mrs May, our esteemed Home Secretary, makes a much better Dominatrix figure than young ms Polizzi.

You Southerners don't have the delights of Carol Mather on your telly screens of course, perhaps Hondo can point his aerial towards the BBC in the North East & Cumbria area or even enjoy her delightful vision when next in York.


I'll get my coat (a dirty mac)
Will be in York on Monday-alas no Telly.(Don't think students have 'em any more.)

[Aqualung]

I think Mrs May, our esteemed Home Secretary, makes a much better Dominatrix figure than young ms Polizzi.



You mean Zelda from Terrahawks.

[Aqualung]

I have had 2 Hunters beers and they were very average.I was in north Devon last week and Locale hasn't really caught on.Iwas surprised how few local beers were on and Doombar was on in nearly every pub.

I don't know Devon well at all but it has always struck me as a poor County for beer. It's one of England's largest Counties but compare it to North, South or West Yorkshire and it's easy to see how bad it is. The predominance of Doom Bore doesn't surprise me at all. I don't recall Devon ever having a regional independent so the large pubcos can thrust the rubbish Doom Bore at the punters to their heart's content.

[london calling]

That's what the GBG says and your reaction probably speaks volumes.
The drinks trade has alway been fickle and prone to fashions and trends.
For various reasons I am quite concerned about Brodie's as they have been talking for the last year about having a new (I think 40 barrel) brewery for their core beers up and running by Autumn this year. To date there doesn't seem to be any sign of this happening so there has been a year of pubs wanting their beer and them not being able to provide it, including the William IV.
There are enough quality micros in London today for it to easily go unnoticed if one were to fall by the wayside and there are many that I haven't even tried.
That's a big kit for a brewer with poorly rated beer.As for Brodies they could probably get away with a 40 barrel as they are highly rated up and down the country but I have always felt they are a bit erratic on the business side as I know they have let down pubs and fests previously.Last years Rainbow ipa fest was a classic.They didn't advertise it and very few turned up.Beavertown are hosting it this year.

[london calling]

I don't know Devon well at all but it has always struck me as a poor County for beer. It's one of England's largest Counties but compare it to North, South or West Yorkshire and it's easy to see how bad it is. The predominance of Doom Bore doesn't surprise me at all. I don't recall Devon ever having a regional independent so the large pubcos can thrust the rubbish Doom Bore at the punters to their heart's content.
It was disheartening to see so much Doombar but I tried a pint as its been a while.Perfect condition but was sweet and slightly malty.No hop flavour and I couldn't finish the pint.Beer for people who don't like the taste of beer imo.

[Aqualung]

As for Brodies I have always felt they are a bit erratic on the business side as I know they have let down pubs and fests previously.
That's an understatement to be sure! I'm on a break from the William as I got sick of being served warm beer. The straw that broke the camel's back was when the manager got in some Milestone guests. I'll be returning in October and hope things have improved. I didn't have a row with them or get barred but just took the decision to not go there at all until the weather is a lot cooler.

[Aqualung]

Last years Rainbow ipa fest was a classic.They didn't advertise it and very few turned up.Beavertown are hosting it this year.

The new Beavertown Tap is only a bus ride away for me but I'm reluctant to go there as it's all keg and everything is served in mickey mouse half or two third pint measures. It works out £4.00 a pint which I could live with for a 6% or 7% beer.
The other thing is that it's only open on Saturday which makes me wonder if it is even worth adding to the site.

[Aqualung]

It was disheartening to see so much Doombar but I tried a pint as its been a while.Perfect condition but was sweet and slightly malty.No hop flavour and I couldn't finish the pint.Beer for people who don't like the taste of beer imo.

That's what happened to me recently when I was confronted with a choice of Pride, Bombardier or Doom Bore at a renovated local pub. I went for the Doom Bore partly to justify my continued vilification of it. It was in perfect condition but was just as you say, so sweet with no hop character at all. I did drink it as penny-pinching soaks never leave beer behind and I think you can only confirm a beer is rubbish or brilliant by drinking a full pint of it.

The worst thing for me is that Spoons are making it a semi-regular beer but are also charging way over the odds for it. In the Cap In Hand at the Hook underpass yesterday it was 60p dearer than Tillingbourne The Source plus Twickenham Naked Ladies and 30p dearer than the excellent 5.5% Loddon Forbury Lion. All three are superb Locale beers and yet on the "boring" bank of pumps there were two Doom Bores.

[london calling]

The new Beavertown Tap is only a bus ride away for me but I'm reluctant to go there as it's all keg and everything is served in mickey mouse half or two third pint measures. It works out £4.00 a pint which I could live with for a 6% or 7% beer.
The other thing is that it's only open on Saturday which makes me wonder if it is even worth adding to the site.
I have noticed the Beavertown prices are high.I thought the brewery taps were meant to sell beer cheaply.Little or no overheads ,no transport costs etc.Very good brewer though.

[bcfczuluarmy]

She may be scary but you'd still hit it.

[Gann]

The slightly scary Ms. Polizzi casts her eye over the financial difficulties of a struggling Devon micro. Should prove rather informative. To be shown Monday 1st September 21.00.

Not sure who saw it last night as well.
And I know it's all in the editing and the BBC are not beyond character assasination to make their "experts" look like the dogs Bollocks..
But Mr Paul Walker did come across as a bit of an amateurish knob.. if the facts are to be believed that he bought his original kit off ebay and paid £40K for a bottling machine from a company with no track record that he never visited..

But I did warm to him and hope they pull through..

The look on his face when the head brewer from Sharps intimated that the Hunters best selling Devon Dreamer was Shit and wouldn't be brewed at Sharps was quality.......

[Quinno]

I don't know them either, but according to the almost defunct GBG they expanded from a five barrel plant to a sixty barrel one. 240 firkins is an awful lot of beer to sell especially outside the holiday season. Devon also has a lot of cider available and a few fairly well established micros. Their four beers listed in the GBG have a range from 3.8% to 4.3% so maybe they are all too similar and not that interesting.


I had a few when down in Torquay the other month. They weren't that great, though some had a sweet, heavyish taste, almost Scottish in tone. Another issue is that they tended to crop up in lower-grade pubs. Hard to build up volumes and repeat custom if 50% of your ale is cack when served...

[Brewguru]

60 barrel are you sure?


Quite right, the 60 barrel brew house is in fact a 15, he produces 60 FIRKINS a brew. A barrel is 36 gallons, not 9. Maybe someone should point that out...

[Aqualung]

Quite right, the 60 barrel brew house is in fact a 15, he produces 60 FIRKINS a brew. A barrel is 36 gallons, not 9. Maybe someone should point that out...

It will be interesting to see if the error is perpetuated in the imminent 2015 guide.

[Aqualung]

But Mr Paul Walker did come across as a bit of an amateurish knob.. if the facts are to be believed that he bought his original kit off ebay and paid £40K for a bottling machine from a company with no track record that he never visited..


This was my overall impression. Why did he need his own bottling kit? We never really saw what the different beers all are but it sounds like the Devon Dreamer (it's called Denbury Dreamer in the 2014 guide) is a pale hoppy beer. If it's his best seller then what was the purpose of the blind tasting with just a small group of people?

[aleandhearty]

If it's his best seller then what was the purpose of the blind tasting with just a small group of people?

Because Stuart Howe didn't really like it that much, preferring the Royal Hunt. The small group contained some beer bloggers and (beer?) sommeliers and so were probably well up on the current beer scene. They also preferred the Royal Hunt signalling to AP that was the beer to concentrate on. It was reckoned that Devon Dreamer's popularity was largely down to its name

[Aqualung]

Because Stuart Howe didn't really like it that much, preferring the Royal Hunt. The small group contained some beer bloggers and (beer?) sommeliers and so were probably well up on the current beer scene. They also preferred the Royal Hunt signalling to AP that was the beer to concentrate on. It was reckoned that Devon Dreamer's popularity was largely down to its name

It also sounds to me like Devon Dreamer is a "summer" style beer which given the brewery's proximity to the South Devon resorts would make it a popular choice at the height of the tourist season. I don't suppose these "experts" or the muppet from Sharp's even took that into account. Doom Bore isn't popular because of any quality it has but because they are part of a global corporation that has the power to muscle their way into the pubcos. Sadly that also includes Wetherspoons. I have to admit I almost lost the will to live when they dragged Sharp's into the programme.

[Bucking Fastard]

I watched the programme and clearly editing can produce a "story line " which paints the central subject in a poor light.However he did seem to lack a lot of basic business skills,but I warmed to the man when in conversation with his wife a long way from camera essentially saying why would anyone take note of the tasting opinion of the person responsible for brewing Doom Bar.

The piece of the programme I found interesting was in the design studio and the ideas to change the confused branding used hitherto by Hunters.
It's such a crowded market and although you need to brew decent ale (jury out on this regarding Hunters) it seems vital to present the right marketing image in a consistent manner.Food for thought there for any aspiring micro,especially when so many pump clips seem to confuse the customer by being overburdened with colours,images,verbage ,strange fonts and weird shapes. Or is it just me ?

[Quinno]

Just watched it. Quite funny really, all the guff about rebranding hasn't hit Torquay yet (I was there a couple of months back), all the pumps where I spotted his beer were all old style ones. So clearly the marketing/organisational side is still fairly backward.

That bottling machine 'debacle' was quite sad but I do wonder which company was making it. There are a number that offer the service....

It's worth a view.

[Mobyduck]

Food for thought there for any aspiring micro,especially when so many pump clips seem to confuse the customer by being overburdened with colours,images,verbage ,strange fonts and weird shapes. Or is it just me ?
Proof of the pudding is in the eating ,so to speak. :drinkup:

[Aqualung]

The piece of the programme I found interesting was in the design studio and the ideas to change the confused branding used hitherto by Hunters.


This was one thing I totally agreed with. London brewers like Redemption and even the new kid Wild Card have very recogonisable style pump clips so that a casual glance will immediately show the presence of their beer on a bar. Of course this also has the unwanted effect where a punter that doesn't like the brewery can quickly rule it out as an option.

[london calling]

It also sounds to me like Devon Dreamer is a "summer" style beer which given the brewery's proximity to the South Devon resorts would make it a popular choice at the height of the tourist season. I don't suppose these "experts" or the muppet from Sharp's even took that into account. Doom Bore isn't popular because of any quality it has but because they are part of a global corporation that has the power to muscle their way into the pubcos. Sadly that also includes Wetherspoons. I have to admit I almost lost the will to live when they dragged Sharp's into the programme.

Devon Dreamer is a brown boring just the type of beer they like in the West Country.Stuart Howe the brewer didn't invent Doombar its just his job to brew it.He is one of the most respected brewers in the country because he brews limited edition beers that are brilliant.That knobhead last night didn't realise that he was given a chance for a great brewer to assess his beer.You couldn't pay money to get that chance and Stuart nailed it your best seller is shite but the good beer is Royal Hunt which the beer drinkers/bloggers of London thought so as well.

[london calling]

I thought it was a good programme and also liked the bit when he tried to sell his beer to the hip Bristol pub.Think of a line up of bottled beer behind his bar Kernal with their minimalistic cardboard labels.Partizan with their beautiful artwork,Beavertown with their surreal designs and then Hunters with a red coated huntsman on a horse.What ones going to sell.

[london calling]

It also sounds to me like Devon Dreamer is a "summer" style beer which given the brewery's proximity to the South Devon resorts would make it a popular choice at the height of the tourist season. I don't suppose these "experts" or the muppet from Sharp's even took that into account. Doom Bore isn't popular because of any quality it has but because they are part of a global corporation that has the power to muscle their way into the pubcos. Sadly that also includes Wetherspoons. I have to admit I almost lost the will to live when they dragged Sharp's into the programme.

there was only one muppet imo that's the owner of Hunters parting with 45,000 up front is stupid.

[bcfczuluarmy]

The Lido isn't a hip Bristol (pub) imho, for tv purposes yes. It's a place that sells bottled beers only, pub next door on the hand is. I walked out as no draught available when I went to visit a couple of years ago and I'm a lager drinker...

I have however seen numerous clips for their beer in pubs around the Bristol area on ceilings walls etc so must be shifting it. Think there was a certain lag in the program between reality and filming the plight and the way it was edited as Hunters has been available up here for a while.

[Aqualung]

Devon Dreamer is a brown boring just the type of beer they like in the West Country.Stuart Howe the brewer didn't invent Doombar its just his job to brew it.He is one of the most respected brewers in the country because he brews limited edition beers that are brilliant.That knobhead last night didn't realise that he was given a chance for a great brewer to assess his beer.You couldn't pay money to get that chance and Stuart nailed it your best seller is shite but the good beer is Royal Hunt which the beer drinkers/bloggers of London thought so as well.



If these Limited Edition Sharp's beers are so brilliant then why don't they make them less limited? I'm sure I remember Sharps being on the Spoons guest ale list years ago before they sold their soul and don't recall anything worth a second glance.
I was under the impression that Sommelier was French for "Pretentious Twat" but according to my dictionary it's a wine waiter. I wouldn't take notice of anyone deluded and arrogant enough to describe them self as a "Beer Sommelier". All these so-called experts are just individuals with opinions and what they think is no more or less relevant than what you me or some random bloke at the bar thinks. In fact, I would say many of these "experts" are just people trying to make an easy shilling by getting their opinions out in the media or charging gullible people for "Tutored Tasting" or (worst of all) "Food Matching" sessions.

[Brewguru]

If these Limited Edition Sharp's beers are so brilliant then why don't they make them less limited? I'm sure I remember Sharps being on the Spoons guest ale list years ago before they sold their soul and don't recall anything worth a second glance.

Forget about Doom Bore, Stuart Howe is a brewer who knows what he's doing. He is a bit of an opinionated **** but he knows his stuff, read his blog here:
http://brewingreality.blogspot.co.uk/
I always find he usually hits the mark, especially with regards to some of the new "craft" brewers who believe they can brew beer by bunging twice as many hops as anyone else in a bucket. It is just disappointing the way he defends Doom Bore as the leading UK cask ale.


I was under the impression that Sommelier was French for "Pretentious Twat" but according to my dictionary it's a wine waiter. I wouldn't take notice of anyone deluded and arrogant enough to describe them self as a "Beer Sommelier". All these so-called experts are just individuals with opinions and what they think is no more or less relevant than what you me or some random bloke at the bar thinks. In fact, I would say many of these "experts" are just people trying to make an easy shilling by getting their opinions out in the media or charging gullible people for "Tutored Tasting" or (worst of all) "Food Matching" sessions.

Couldn't agree with you more on this one

[sheffield hatter]

Forget about Doom Bore, Stuart Howe is a brewer who knows what he's doing. He is a bit of an opinionated **** but he knows his stuff, read his blog here:
http://brewingreality.blogspot.co.uk/

Facinating link within his blog of 10 May 2014 to a U-tube clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWG_TNxzQhE) of him discussing Doom Bar with a couple of beer/food writers. The beer they describe is totally different from my (and I suspect most people here's) experience of the beer as encountered in pubs up and down the country, whose managers clearly don't know how to keep a real ale and in fact don't give a toss. Shouldn't the brewer, who, judging by the clip (and assuming he's not a total hypocrite), thinks he has produced a fantastic beer that deserves its status as the best selling cask ale in the country, be concerned about the dreadful reputation his beer has acquired among beer lovers? There's a great moment towards the end of the clip where Adrian Tierney-Jones describes the beer as "spritely" (4:50). I've never had a pint of Doom Bar that I would describe as even remotely approaching being in good nick, never mind "dancing on your tongue" - not the brewer's fault, I know, but doesn't he care?

[Mobyduck]

Facinating link within his blog of 10 May 2014 to a U-tube clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWG_TNxzQhE) of him discussing Doom Bar with a couple of beer/food writers. The beer they describe is totally different from my (and I suspect most people here's) experience of the beer as encountered in pubs up and down the country, whose managers clearly don't know how to keep a real ale and in fact don't give a toss. Shouldn't the brewer, who, judging by the clip (and assuming he's not a total hypocrite), thinks he has produced a fantastic beer that deserves its status as the best selling cask ale in the country, be concerned about the dreadful reputation his beer has acquired among beer lovers? There's a great moment towards the end of the clip where Adrian Tierney-Jones describes the beer as "spritely" (4:50). I've never had a pint of Doom Bar that I would describe as even remotely approaching being in good nick, never mind "dancing on your tongue" - not the brewer's fault, I know, but doesn't he care?
Totally agree, the clip is a pretentious load of b****cks as far as I'm concerned, Doom bar did once have some flavour many years ago but has long since joined the ranks of boring brown beer. It gives brown beer a bad name as do many other dumbed down beers nowadays.

[Bucking Fastard]

Totally agree, the clip is a pretentious load of b****cks as far as I'm concerned, Doom bar did once have some flavour many years ago but has long since joined the ranks of boring brown beer. It gives brown beer a bad name as do many other dumbed down beers nowadays.

Well said that man.

[aleandhearty]

Facinating link within his blog of 10 May 2014 to a U-tube clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWG_TNxzQhE) of him discussing Doom Bar with a couple of beer/food writers.

Had to laugh, at 1.30 in, when Stuart Howe said 'it's not a massively flavoursome beer, but it is complex'. Eh? Well where does the effing complexity come from then, if it doesn't taste of anything?

[Quinno]

Had to laugh, at 1.30 in, when Stuart Howe said 'it's not a massively flavoursome beer, but it is complex'. Eh? Well where does the effing complexity come from then, if it doesn't taste of anything?

Well, he does brew Doom Bar for a living... http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-basic/rofl.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[Aqualung]

Having read his words and watched a very tedious video clip it seems to me that this man is not only extremly arrogant but totally delusional as well. The only facts in the video were the ingredients for the beer. I thought that hyphenated bloke was trying to say in a round about way that it was a lot sweeter than he would like. All in all I thought they were both talking a load of sycophantic drivel for which I'm sure they received a handsome fee. I wonder what Mr Howe would have done if they had been critical of it.

The pint of the stuff I had recently couldn't have been in better condition. It was in a pub that had only been re-opened for a few hours so the lines would have been spotless, the beer fresh and the temperature was certainly right. The brew is just too sweet with very little hop character.

[Bucking Fastard]

Having read his words and watched a very tedious video clip it seems to me that this man is not only extremly arrogant but totally delusional as well. The only facts in the video were the ingredients for the beer. I thought that hyphenated bloke was trying to say in a round about way that it was a lot sweeter than he would like. All in all I thought they were both talking a load of sycophantic drivel for which I'm sure they received a handsome fee. I wonder what Mr Howe would have done if they had been critical of it.

The pint of the stuff I had recently couldn't have been in better condition. It was in a pub that had only been re-opened for a few hours so the lines would have been spotless, the beer fresh and the temperature was certainly right. The brew is just too sweet with very little hop character.

Those boys really should have been forced to take the three pint test,rather than just sipping the stuff.However much Mr Howe was leading the witness in that clip,I am sure the reaction would have been totally different as the two experts confronted that third pint.:sick:

[hondo]

http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Number-of-UK-breweries-has-grown-almost-200-since-Millennium plenty competition

[Gann]

Just watched it. Quite funny really, all the guff about rebranding hasn't hit Torquay yet (I was there a couple of months back), all the pumps where I spotted his beer were all old style ones. So clearly the marketing/organisational side is still fairly backward.

Been away for a couple of days and just caught up with this chain again, but can confirm that if you look at Huntsman's Facebook page there are threads on there which indicate that they have decided to ignore the branding advice given and stick with the old look and feel...

Now there could be very good unseen reasons for this, such as the marketing agency wanting a huge wedge for the use of their design.
But one would assume the BBC would have covered the agency's time and even if there is a charge to Huntsman for the design it would be at "mates rates" due to the TV program..

Perhaps I'm tainted by being in Marketing but I really liked the clean brand (especially the pump clips , although they were a bit Purityesque in shape ) compared to their current missmatch of images and just further evidence of the bumbling amateurism of the operation to my mind..